New Hearts of Oak Team Manager Sabahn Quaye eyes league title

Newly-appointed Accra Hearts of Oak team manager, Sarbahn Quaye, assumed duty in his new role yesterday with a mission to help the Phobians to recapture the league from rivals Asante Kotoko.

Being familiar with the Hearts set-up, Sarbahn went straight to business with an added coaching responsibility on his first day in office as Hearts began pre-season preparations at the Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC) training grounds yesterday.

â€˜I have challenged myself to help Hearts to win the league title again and have already started psyching up the players towards that,â€™ Sarbahn revealed in an exclusive interview with the Graphic Sports after the yesterday morning workout.

He said his highest motivation for returning to Hearts was to win the Premier League title which has eluded the Phobians in the past three seasons.

â€˜I won the league five times with Hearts, in addition to winning the maiden CAF Confederation Cup in 2004 before leaving in 2009. I want to help Hearts to reclaim the league title from Kotoko in the coming season,â€™ he declared.

According to him he made his mission statement clear to the playing body at training and inspired them to live up to that challenge.

â€˜I had a hearty chat with the players and urged them to be disciplined, dedicated and hardworking since this is their time to achieve something for themselves and the club,â€™ Sarbah, who doubles as the welfare officer of the Black Stars, recalled.

He stated that staging a comeback to the Phobian fold was just a matter of course following his status as a dyed-in-the-wool Phobian.

He saw his role in Hearts as being more of a family affair other than business and, therefore, was not bound by any contract which could restrict his movement.

He stressed that he did not sign any contract with Hearts, save a gentlemanâ€™s agreement which would enable him to play his Black Stars role effectively as well.

For now, Sarbahn will also assist the clubâ€™s new assistant coach, Stephen Abugri, who takes over the team today until a substantive head coach is appointed to replace Mohammed Ahmed Polo.

Abugri, former coach of King Faisal and Okwawu United, recently tied himself to a two-year contract with the Phobians as assistant coach.

Sarbahn replaces former Hearts skipper, Amankwaa Mireku, who was appointed as a stop-gap measure last last season alongside former teammate Eben Dida as goalkeepersâ€™ trainer.